All You Need to Learn and Understand About Kidney Stones, Including their Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Generally, approximately one out of ten Americans develop kidney stones and usually affect people of any age. Some of the symptoms of kidney disease include nausea, fever, severe pain, and vomiting. Therefore, if you suspect that you have kidney stones, it would be better to seek medical help before these symptoms worsen. That’s why kidney stones in Coconut Creek are treated and managed by a team of specialists who are well experienced to ensure you receive quality and satisfactory results.

What are kidney stones?

Kidney stones refer to small or tiny masses found in your kidneys that typically develop when your urine is over-concentrated, leading to the formation of crystals that are made of oxalate, calcium, and uric acid, which bind together to form kidney stones. In most cases, a kidney stone can be as big as a golf ball or as small as a single grain of sand. With time these small kidney stones begin leaving your kidney when you are urinating. However, the big stones might get stuck within your ureter, a slim tube that moves urine from the kidneys to the bladder.

What are some of the symptoms of kidney stones?

Typically, very tiny kidney stones might not cause any symptoms. Still, the bigger ones may cause some symptoms, including vomiting, severe pain in your back, difficulty when beginning urination, nausea, frequent urination, fever, pain or discomfort when you urinate, radiating pain that may reach your belly, groin, or genital area, blood in urine or hematuria. It is also important to note that these symptoms might occur in other conditions like kidney cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and blood cancer. Therefore one is encouraged to seek medical help when experiencing some of these symptoms for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

How are kidney stones diagnosed?

The health care team begins by performing a physical examination, takes medical and family history, and reviews your symptoms to diagnose kidney stones. Diagnosis may include blood tests, urinalysis, and imaging tests like CT scans, x-rays, intravenous pyelogram, and ultrasound. In some cases, you may also require metabolic testing when the doctor might be suspecting that your kidney stones might be due to a metabolic disorder.

What are the treatment options available for kidney stones?

There are various treatment options available for people diagnosed with kidney stones. For instance, if you have not yet experienced any symptoms, the doctor may recommend monitoring without immediate treatment. And if you have some symptoms and you need relief, the following are the treatment options available:

•       Medication

Medication can be used to relieve pain and is often combined with other therapies.

•       Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL)

During ESWL, sound waves are used to break kidney stones into small pieces to be passed out normally during urination. It is a non-invasive treatment that requires local anesthesia.

•       Ureteroscopy

It is a procedure that involves the use of a long ultraslim camera to capture the images of kidney stones. The stones are either broken up with laser lithotripsy before removal or removed with a tiny basket. It is also a noninvasive procedure that requires local anesthesia.

In summary, other additional treatment options available include urethral stent and percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Therefore, if you begin experiencing some symptoms of kidney stones, visit Broward Specialty Group today.